Hands Down
by beatgoeson654
Summary: A Songfic to Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional. Lots and lots and lots and lots of JC. Pointless fluff, yay! OOC, too. Summary: One great night changes everything.


**Prologue (I had to include it, sorry: It's slightly long and more-than-slightly tedious, but it sets up the story, so calm yourselves.)**

"How do I look?" Cindy asked her best friend as she stared critically at herself in the mirror.

Libby gave her a disbelieving stare from behind her in the mirror, "What kind of a question is that? You look amazing," she smiled reassuringly and gently pushed Cindy away from the vanity she had been occupying for the past half hour. The blonde half-smiled and moved behind Libby so she could check her reflection once more.

Her hair was down, and it hung around her shoulders in soft golden waves. She was wearing a green striped halter-top, as she had back in her elementary school years, but now it fit her differently. She threw a light sweatshirt over this, the black fabric contrasting with her pale skin and hair. She looked down; she was wearing her favorite jeans. They were frayed around the ends and had a few holes by the knees, and one halfway up her thigh. Whenever she wore them her mom made the joke that they had been ruined and would have to be thrown away. Whenever her mom made this predictable joke, Cindy would just have to roll her eyes and give a half-disgusted smile.

Her eyes were dusted with just a hint of green eye-shadow, and she had put just a touch of pink lip gloss on, per usual, but mostly, her look was natural. It was just a party, after all, and it was going to be dark outside.

Around her neck, she wore a necklace, not to be unnoticed by Libby, "Ooh, nice pearl! How long have you had that?"

"A few years." Cindy smiled and turned away, anxiously staring out her window across the street. His window was dark... why was his window dark? "I'm gonna kill him if he's late to the party because he's out in his stupid lab..." she muttered, subconsciously twirling her hair between her fingers.

Libby caught on immediately, "You mean Jimmy? Your _lovvverrrr_?" she joked, and Cindy gave her a small glare.

"He's not my _lovvvverrrr_," she mocked Libby's use of the word, even as she stared again out the window to his, "We're barely even friends. We just started hanging out." Even though she knew this couldn't be farther from the truth, it made her feel better to say it. They had, in fact, just began "hanging out", but she had a feeling they weren't just friends.

"Whatever you say, girl. I'm just glad I actually told Sheen how I felt years ago. It was the best decision I ever made,"

Cindy rolled her eyes, and was about to comment snappishly when a voice from downstairs carried up the hallway and her heart about stopped.

"...they're getting dressed. How nice of you to offer the girls a ride! I'll go check and see if they're ready." Cindy recognized her mom's tone as that of one speaking to a guest and moved to the hallway just as her mom shouted up the stairs.

"Cindy! Are you girls almost ready? There's someone here to see you!"

"Yeah, mom," she said, figuring that the "someone" would be Sheen.

"Okay! I'm sending Jimmy up!"

Shocked, Cindy jumped and ran back into her room, shutting the door, and checking it for any signs of disarray. Libby watched her amusedly, having finished her makeup and hair, sitting on top of the dresser.

"Jimmy here?"

Cindy gave her a warning look between fluffing her pillows and straightening her comforter. Just as she kicked a stray sock under the bed she heard a tentative knock on her door.

"Did you know he was coming?" she hissed, and Libby gave a sly smile. Cindy fumed before remembering Jimmy was behind the door, "Oh, uh... come in," she said nervously, "and _you_ shut up," she added, more softly, to Libby, who ha just started laughing at her.

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**Wow! Another story! From me! This is a songfic to Dashboard Confessional's "Hands Down," perhaps my favorite song by my favorite band in the universe.**

**All you need to know before reading: The characters are juniors in high school, though... I guess now technically they would be seniors, as this takes place in the first week of summer.**

**PLOTLESS, OUT-OF-CHARACTER, J/C FLUFF! DEAL WITH IT! **

**(And download the song. It's seriously amazing. Epically so.)**

**Disclaimah: I don't own Jimmy Neutron or related characters, including Cindy Vortex, (if I did, they would be together by now because I would force them to be real people) or the song "Hands Down" (except on iTunes). Nickelodeon pretty much owns Jimmy, though clearly... they don't deserve him.**

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Jimmy opened the door and took an unsure step onto the carpet, as if he thought he might burst into flames if the room realized he was there. He was wearing jeans and black jacket with a blue t-shirt that matched his eyes peeking out from underneath it. Cindy smiled. He looked pretty handsome. Not to mention that he was now at least half a foot taller than her. 

He noticed Libby first, "Sheen's downstairs. He wants to give you a ride. Refuses to take the same car..." he trailed off, and Libby slid off the top of the dresser, walking over to Cindy to pick up her purse.

"You could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife," she muttered to Cindy, who aimed a kick at her and missed as Libby scooted away quickly, stopping to wink at her behind Jimmy's back.

"So... I didn't know you were coming," Cindy broke the silence and Jimmy stopped examining her room and looked at her for the first time.

His mouth opened a little, and his eyes moved from her bare feet to the familiar pearl on her necklace to her new wavy hairstyle. "_Somehow she makes even a sweatshirt and jeans look beautiful." _He saw that she was watching him check her out and he blushed a little.

"I was just going to get a ride with Libby," she explained, "_but I'm glad you're here... in my room,"_ she added in her head.

He smiled at her and Cindy felt her insides melt, "I know we were going to meet at the party, but... I don't know. I guess I just really wanted to take you," he paused, as if listening to how that had sounded, "Because... you live right across the street... and the high price of gas and the emissions' effect on the environment..." he rubbed the back of his neck; he was obviously trying to validate himself and his reason for wanting to pick her up. "_He's so cute_," Cindy thought.

"I see. Well, anything for the sake of the environment. Let's go," she twirled her loose curls between her fingers absentmindedly before she grinned and walked over to him. To her surprise, he offered her his arm. She linked her arm with his and they descended down the stairs, "We'll be back in a few hours!" Cindy yelled to her mom before adding quietly to Jimmy after she slipped on her flip-flops, "she thinks we're going to the movies. I haven't told her otherwise,"

Jimmy laughed softly and opened the door of his car for her to climb in. He shut her door and jogged around to the drivers' side, and Cindy felt the butterflies in her stomach begin to beat their metaphorical wings like mad.

Most of the rest of the short ride passed in silence, with most of the words spoken being about the party, or Cindy jokingly voicing her fears that the car Jimmy had built would give out any second. She could gather from what she'd heard over the past two weeks about the party that there would be dancing and drinks... but other than that she hadn't heard much. It was being thrown to celebrate the end of their junior year of high school. Most high school students had senior parties, but this year the juniors had decided they needed one. And Nick, ever the party-loving guy, had made it happen. Jimmy mentioned he had helped a little by inventing an adult-deterrent shield around the party site.

They took advantage of the fact that no one ever used the park in downtown Retroville past 10 o'clock and had set up for the party there. It was perfect.

The air was cool with a hint of the rain that had just subsided a few hours before. After a few minutes of walking, the sounds of music reached their ears and they could see the party lights.

"Wow! You guys did a great job setting this up! Who would have thought that you, with the creativity of a tree-stump, could have done such a good job."

Jimmy glared playfully, "Shut up, Vortex," he sighed and looked back to the impromptu dance floor and the giant speakers, "We needed it to be hard for the adults to find in case the shield was faulty, but still... party-worthy."

"Well... It looks pretty good," Jimmy watched Cindy scanning the party. Nearly their whole class was there – a hundred kids, probably more. Nearly all of them were dancing. Jimmy gestured to the horde of dancing kids imploringly, and to his great pleasure, Cindy acquiesced, and followed him on to the dance floor.

The fast song was perfect, although the pair received some odd looks and a few harsh comments for dancing it together.

It wasn't altogether unexpected. The love/hate relationship they shared was extremely well known... especially the love part. Anything they did that showed anything other than total contempt for each other was seen as flirting, and it didn't help that it usually was.

Jimmy knew that he had never acknowledged or spoke of his feelings, but he hoped that "_maybe_... _tonight will change that"_.

A slow song came on next, and after a few tense seconds, Jimmy offered his hand, and Cindy accepted it immediately.

Cindy felt like she was dancing on air, and this time they both were completely oblivious to their environment and the stares they were attracting.

"You two would have very smart kids," Libby muttered audibly as she danced by with Sheen.

Jimmy and Cindy glanced at each other briefly and blushed, before Cindy retorted, "You two would have very weird kids,"

Libby just smiled, and even more so when Sheen kissed her forehead lightly.

The other two stared, as this was very out-of-character for Sheen, but they just kept dancing nonetheless.

Jimmy smiled as he stared down into her eyes. He really just wanted to pull her close to him and kiss her. He kept this urge mastered however, and contented himself with just being close to her.

After the dance ended, Jimmy was in a state of ecstasy. He had something special planned for them, so he pulled her gently off of the dance floor and showed signs of wanting to talk to her.

"It's really loud," Cindy mouthed over the music.

"That's okay; I have other plans." He whispered in her ear mysteriously, and Cindy felt an excited shiver run up her spine.

He grabbed Cindy's hand gently and led her away from the dancing and eating kids and the loud music.

When he was satisfied that he was far enough away, they were in a small grove of trees with a clearing and a perfect view of the stars. He let go of her hand

"You remember that time back in the summer after we were in Miss Fowl's class and we came to this spot to look at the stars?"

"Of course," Cindy replied; he had hoped she hadn't forgotten. That had been one of the best times he could remember having with her. He also remembered just inviting her and Libby for the chance to... well... flirt with her, maybe... and because he valued her scientific opinion. **(A/N King Of Mars, anyone?)**

"Well, unless my memory fails me, that party was crashed by a spoiled rich kid. So I thought maybe... we could look at the stars for a while," he posed the question tentatively, gauging her reaction.

She nodded approvingly and said, "That would be okay," barely concealing her joy, and Jimmy smiled and pulled a blanket out of his hypercube, which he had just recently cleverly designed to be attachment to his watch.

He spread it out on the ground and sat down quietly looking up at the stars. Cindy sat down close to him in the center of the blanket.

After only a few minutes of watching, a shooting star went by, "Make a wish," Jimmy told her, though he didn't believe in the silly superstition.

"No." Cindy replied defiantly, "You can't tell me what to do," Cindy shook her head, "And I wouldn't, anyway," when Jimmy looked at her, she explained softly, "I'm good,"

Jimmy looked surprised for a moment, but then he just smiled back at her.

_Breathe in for luck_

_Breathe in so deep_

_This air is blessed_

_You share with me_

"Oh, uh, me too," he replied, lying down. She did the same and felt another excited shiver run up her spine as she did so.

_This night is wild_

_So calm and dull_

_These hearts they race_

_From self-control_

Jimmy felt his pulse beating at a million beats per minute. He couldn't believe he was sitting... no, **_lying_** on a blanket with Cindy in a park, looking at the stars. It was truly incredible. He wasn't entirely sure he wasn't dreaming.

After a few more speechless minutes passed, Cindy felt her teeth start to chatter in the cold nighttime Texas air. Jimmy looked down at her, pausing a second to take in her enrapturing beauty before asking the painfully obvious question, "Are you cold?"

Cindy gave him a slightly patronizing look, and shook her head.

"I was just asking," he muttered defensively, "I don't suppose you want my jacket..."

Cindy reached out her hand to take it before she had a much better idea. Turning away to hide her devilish smile, she took up the corner of the blanket and drew it up around her shoulders and back, imploring Jimmy to do the same.

He hesitated for not even a second, pulling the blanket around, as she imperceptibly slid closer to him until she was right up next to him.

_Your legs are smooth_

_As they graze mine_

_We're doing fine_

_We're doing nothing at all_

Jimmy looked over slowly. She was so close. So very close. He could count the freckles on her nose in the moonlight.

She turned her head, saw him staring at her, and turned back up to look at the stars, enjoying the attention and savoring the look she'd just seen in his eyes.

"_She's so beautiful_,"Jimmy thought. Then, he lost the ability to think when she laid her head on his shoulder. He tensed up for a millisecond before putting his arm around her slowly, as if she would tear it off if he made any sudden movements.

_My hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me_

_So won't you kill me?_

_So I die happy_

_My heart is yours to fill or burst_

_To break or bury_

_Or wear as jewelry_

_Whichever you prefer_

"This is..." Jimmy started.

"...new, interesting... nice?" Cindy supplied.

"Yeah," Jimmy admitted, "_but mostly the last one_," he added in his head.

"You know, I'm only doing this to stay warm," Cindy lied.

"I know. So am I." Jimmy added in mock seriousness.

_The words are hushed_

_Let's not get busted_

They heard the rustle of feet go by, accompanied by drunken laughter.

"How trashed do you think Nick and Betty are?" Cindy giggled and whispered.

"I don't even want to guess, for fear of being right,"

_Just lay entwined here_

_Undiscovered_

"How do you..." Cindy started, pausing for a second to listen to Jimmy's heartbeat quicken, "think our fellow classmates would react if they saw us being all nice to each other like this?" Jimmy noticed she tread carefully in her words, trying to make him define the situation, not wanting to herself.

Jimmy gave a quiet laugh, "Another thing I don't want to think about," he stopped and the silence lengthened, "but mostly because I wouldn't really care,"

Cindy lifted her head a little and looked up into his eyes for a brief moment. He looked away after a second, slightly mollified and a little embarrassed.

_Safe in here from all the stupid questions,_

"_Hey did you get some?"_

_Man, that is so dumb_

_Stay quiet,_

_Stay near,_

_Stay close_

_They can't hear_

_So we can get some_

Cindy felt the breeze ruffle her hair and listened to Jimmy softly talking about the stars over their heads. It impressed her, how he seemed to know everything about every single one.

"You're making all of this up, aren't you?" she teased.

"I am not!" Jimmy argued defensively.

"Yes you are! And you know I'll have no idea whether you're right or not, so you can just say whatever you want, and if it sounds smart, I'll believe it!" she continued, full of mock righteous anger.

"True, but that's not what's happening here,"

"Oh, yes it is!" Cindy craned her neck to look up to his face, "I've figured it out! Jimmy Neutron actually has an IQ of 30, but he sounds smart so people believe every word he says! His "genius" inventions were all bought on eBay!"

Jimmy found himself staring down at her lips while she spoke, and was so unprepared for a response, he simply agreed with her.

Cindy frowned, slightly aggravated at the lack of conflict, but feeling the familiar rush of besting him in an argument. And she hadn't missed him staring at her mouth. Before this night was over, she knew, she would touch his lips to hers.

_My hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me_

_So won't you kill me?_

_So I die happy_

_My heart is yours to fill or burst_

_To break or bury_

_Or wear as jewelry_

_Whichever you prefer_

_Hands down this is the best day I can ever remember_

_Always remember_

_The sound of the stereo_

Jimmy sighed and closed his eyes. Everything was going perfectly. He could still hear the faint bass beats from the party, but it seemed so far away. He was so much happier here. That he knew.

_Dim of the soft lights,_

_The scent of your hair that you twirled in your fingers_

He looked once again from the stars down to the side of the face of the girl on his shoulder. He breathed in a deep, taking in the light jasmine scent of her hair.

She was breathing slowly, and Jimmy thought she might be asleep when he saw that her eyes were open with the light of the millions of stars above them.

"You're so... beautiful," he breathed, vocalizing the thought that had been in his head all night, and she turned, surprised, lifting her head off of his shoulder.

She bit her lip, trying her hardest not to grin like an idiot as she yearned to, "Thanks, Jimmy. You're not so bad yourself," she turned back around, mentally berating herself for the stupid-sounding response, having no way of knowing that he had stopped listening the second she'd used his first name.

So there they lay, not noticing that the stereo had stopped and the laughter and shouting of the kids had faded.

_And the time on the clock_

Suddenly Cindy had a terrible thought; she sat up, ruining the burrito-like arrangement of the blanket and shaking Jimmy out of a trance,"Shit! What time is it?"

Alarmed, Jimmy checked his watch, and had a similar reaction, "2:55!"

_When we realized it's so late_

Cindy was torn between laughing and breaking down into little bite-sized pieces, "My mom is **never** going to believe a movie took this long. I'm going to be killed." She looked hopefully around the trees for an answer to her new dilemma, "and that means no second date_," _she thought.

"We could hypnotize your mom or something," Jimmy offered, and Cindy sent him a scathing look, though slightly softer than usual, "or I could just sneak you in..."

"Yeah," Cindy got up off the blanket, and watched as Jimmy folded it.

"And as for that second date..." Jimmy began, and Cindy flushed, realizing she'd said the second-date comment aloud, "we'll work on getting you home alive first,"

They walked out of the clearing, past the trashed party scene and to Jimmy's parking spot. His empty parking spot.

"Okay, so I think someone took your car," Cindy offered, and this time she received the patronizing look.

"Don't worry; I have it on GPS tracking. I guess I'll find it in the morning..."

"Right, so... I guess we're walking," Cindy looked down to her flip-flops and sighed, taking Jimmy's outstretched hand as they began walking down the wet streets of Retroville.

"I don't have my jetpack, so yeah. I guess we're walking,"

_And this walk that we shared together_

Jimmy noticed after a while that Cindy was wincing with each step. He knew her shoes were the culprit, "Do you want me to carry you?" he half-joked.

She half-glared back,quasi-disgusted,"No I don't want... _ow_... you to_**carry** _me."

He smiled. She was as stubborn as ever, "Do you **need** me to carry you?"

She would not be seen as weak, "I don't **need **you ever. I'm per-" the rest of her sentence was cut off by Jimmy picking her up and placing her on his back.

She only protested for a minute or two. It was a win-win situation. Jimmy felt as if he had won the argument, plus, he got to carry Cindy. Cindy's' feet no longer hurt, and she had an excuse to wrap her arms around his neck. She rested her chin on the top of his head and just smiled, reveling in the moment.

_And the streets were wet_

They came to Cindy's house, and she leaned closer to his cheek and whispered, "Go to the back door. My mom doesn't need to know about this. For my sake and yours,"

Jimmy just smiled, enjoying the tickle of her whisper against his ear and took himself and his burden around the back of the house.

The large white fence that surrounded Cindy's backyard and pool caused Jimmy to stall for a moment. He tried the gate, "it's locked,"

_And the gate was locked_

He set Cindy down onto the wet grass. He pressed the button to open his watch and activate the laser.

Cindy grabbed his wrist, "You are so **not** lancing that lock."

_So I jumped it_

_And let you in_

Jimmy rolled his eyes and in one smooth movement, and with the aid of his special shoes, hopped the fence. He opened it from the inside and Cindy, shoes in hand, tiptoed around her pool, following Jimmy to the back door.

Jimmy stopped at the door and she slowly ascended the stairs behind him, "I had a good time tonight," Cindy whispered, wincing at how cliché it sounded.

Jimmy nodded, "So did I. I'm... glad you came... with me,"

"So am I," Cindy took a step closer, "It was really..." "..._romantic? No... I can't say that..."_she thought, and let her words trail off

"_Romantic?" _Jimmy finished hopefully in his head, moving a little bit closer, "Yeah, it was."

_And you stood at your door _

_With your hands on my waist_

He pushed a stray hair from in front of her eyes and then moved a few inches closer to her.

She laughed nervously, gave a small smile and stealthily snaked put her hands around his waist, pulling him as close as she could.

_and you kissed me like you meant it_

Their eyes locked, and all in one heart-stopping second, she brought his head down and his lips onto hers.

Jimmy's brain stopped working at that very moment, and he knew the only thing that mattered was for him not to ruin it; he had to keep kissing her or he knew he would just die.

Her hands gripped his shoulders and neck, while he held her to him gently. After what seemed like an eternity, one of them broke the kiss.

Cindy pulled back an inch or two, finally facing the moment she had feared the most. Could she look into his eyes and meet his gaze?

She opened her eyes and looked straight up into his eyes again. She saw what she needed to see; the look told her that he felt everything she did. It gave her the confidence to kiss him again before letting go of his shoulders and turning around to silently open her door.

_and I knew that you meant it_

"Cindy, I... I lo-," he started to whisper, but she stopped fumbling with the lock to turn around and look at him smilingly, and the look of utter content on her face told him that she already knew. He didn't need to say anything.

"G'night, Neutron," she said, kissing him on the cheek before silently opening the back door. She stepped into the dark house and waved at him through the crack teasingly before shutting the door just as inaudibly.

_that you meant it_

_that you meant it_

Jimmy stood, shell-shocked for just a minute or two before he smiled in ecstasy and floated back to his house. He stopped at his front door, turning to look across the street, where he watched a lamp in the corner bedroom turn on, and then quickly turn off. He lightly touched his cheek where Cindy had kissed it, and sighed, "I love you, Cindy Vortex,"

_And I knew that you meant it_

_That you meant it._

**That's it, my lovelies. No 4-page-long author's note this time. R&R and I'll be a happy girl.**


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